


Her Retribution

by roguetwo



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/M, Gen, LevihanAUWeek, reversal au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-13
Updated: 2016-03-13
Packaged: 2018-05-26 11:23:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6236737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roguetwo/pseuds/roguetwo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hanji is a new recruit from the underground district meets a hot-tempered Squad Leader.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Her Retribution

**Author's Note:**

> For Levihan AU Week

“ _From now on, Hanji Zoe is_ _a_ _member of the Survey Corps.”_ Levi recalled Commander Shadis' announcement during roll call earlier.

He told Shadis that he does not share the same ideals as Erwin, yet that didn't stop Shadis from placing this unknown idiot in his squad. He had such a bad time, he called off a scheduled meeting to vent out his frustrations on a wooden dummy.

“ _Hanji will join Levi Squad for the time being.”_

Levi kicked the wooden dummy indiscriminately. He kicked too hard, he thinks, as his shin was in pain but he was too furious to stop.

“For f*cks sake, this is Erwin's bright idea.” Levi muttered as he punched the dummy. “He can keep the damned Four Eyes to himself.”

“F*CKING.” he said, loudly this time as he delivered another punch to the dummy.

“EYEBROWS.” the thought of Erwin's smug fire up his anger even more, he gave the dummy a roundhouse kick. It broke.

“Tch.” he looked around for another target. He may have obliterated the dummy but he is not yet satisfied. Then only he noticed that everyone on the training grounds were looking at him.

Levi hated attention. Maybe he should call it the day. He will order someone from his squad to brief Four Eyes in his place.

 

* * *

 

 

“How is Hanji Zoe's induction to Survey Corps, Levi? Doing well, I suppose?” Shadis raised the question during a meeting.

“Doing well as any green recruits can do, sir” Levi answered vaguely. The truth is, he haven't even met Four Eyes since the dreaded roll call a few days ago.

Shadis shook his head. This is not going to be easy. Maybe he should explain it again. “As Erwin pointed out, Hanji is an asset to the Corps. The fact that...”

“Yes, we all know the story. Four Eyes built a prototype of a weapon with nothing but scraps. Groundbreaking.”Levi interrupts. He looked at Erwin with murder written on his face. This is all Erwin's fault.

“Good. I expect a full report on Hanji on the next meeting. I mean it Levi. I want more information than your half assed answer.” Shadis said firmly. “We need to know if the Humanity's Smartest has what it takes to go on an expedition.”

“ _Tch. Great.”_

 

 

The time has finally come for Levi to meet his squad plus its new member. Levi started the day with an inspection. He took pride in knowing that his squad is the best in the corps. So when he did his usual check up, he expects his squad members to be in an impeccable state. He walked to the first person in line to get a closer look.

“Eld, you ponytail is getting longer. Make sure your big ass head doesn't get tangled in the wires.”

“Yes, squad leader!”

He moved on to the next person.

“Gunther, what is that on your boot?”

Gunther glanced down to his boots. “I..I believe it is mud, sir.”

“Looks like shit to me. Drop down and give me twenty.”

Gunther immediately crouched to the ground and assumed a push up position.Levi observed him until he counted to five before continuing on to the next person in line. He was supposed to check on Petra but he was distracted by a messy being at the end of the line. Levi walked past Petra and Oluo, much to Oluo's dismay.

“Why the f*ck are you so filthy? Your shirt is crumpled, your boots are dirty and your hair.. ugh, what is that smell? Didn't they teach you how to clean up, Four Eyes?”

Hanji suppressed her laugh – tried to suppress her laugh which she failed to do.

“You are so small. I can't take you seriously.” Hanji leaned to the front and looked at the rest of the squad.

“Why are you guys so afraid of him? Seriously, you could just..” as she stand up straight again to face Levi, her hand reach his head in an attempt to ruffle his hair. Oluo who was next to her almost bit his tongue to stop her from doing that, but Levi was quick to dodge her advances.

“What the hell, Four Eyes.”

Hanji folded her hands. “Oh, nothing. Just trying to get better acquainted with my squad leader.”

Levi stared at this person in front of him in disbelieve. Hanji was not backing down from the stare down, accepted the challenge. Their eyes were locked on each other long enough to cause discomfort among the rest of the squad.

“Ehem, squad leader?” Petra tried to break the tension. “Squad leader, we are on patrol duty. Should I prepare the horses?”

Levi blinked first and looked at Petra. From the corner of his eyes, he could tell Four Eyes was grinning - like an idiot.

“No. I want the four of you shit heads to clean every officer's office, spotless!” Levi barked his orders. “I told you to train this Shitty Glasses and this is what I get. Insubordination.”

“But sir, the patrol duty?” Petra bravely asked.

“I will take Shitty Glasses with me. We'll leave soon.” Levi turned to leave his squad. “Remember, spotless! If I see any dirt, I'll have you shit heads run laps.”

 

 

They've been riding for thirty minutes but not a single word were exchanged between them. Levi planned to bring Four Eyes on patrol as an effort to obey Shadis' commands but it was not going well. Maybe he should just leave Four Eyes in the woods. That thought filled him with excitement, Levi didn't realize that he was riding too fast until Four Eyes called him out.

“Squad leader Levi! Are we in a hurry or what?” Levi slowed down to let Four Eyes catch up with him. “For a second there, I thought you were going to leave me behind.” Hanji looked at him and noticed that he was looking at her suspiciously, confirming her accusation.

“I'm not a child, you know. If you left me, I still can find my way back.”

“Not if I tie you to a tree.” Levi muttered as if he was speaking to himself but Hanji heard that and let out the loudest laugh.

Somehow, that eased Levi from the tension that he was having.

“So tell me squad leader, what's the point of patrolling? Is it just an excuse to leave the headquarters on horseback? Because I get it, the headquarters can get tedioussometimes.”

Just as he opened his mouth to answer Four Eyes' questions, Hanji continued talking.

“I mean there is nothing much we could do back there. I've been here for two weeks and all I did were sleep, eat, train, eat and sleep. Some days they would put me in a room and listen to a few people talk about titans. Mind you, I read a lot about titans when I was living underground, I know more than those old geezers. Do you know that titans don't have...”

“Oi, don't you know when to shut up?” Levi looked at Four Eyes' expression changed from excited to grim.

“ _Serves you right for interrupting me.”_

Hanji rode behind him to give the squad leader the space he needed. She didn't see the smirk Levi had plastered on his face as he is proud of himself. Maybe he can get Four Eyes in line after all. In his mind, he is thinking of making Four Eyes take a bath when they get back. These underground scoundrels are smelly.

Not long after that, they entered a small forest. Halfway into the forest, Levi turned to let Four Eyes know that they are reaching the wall. However, Four Eyes was not behind him. He pulled the reins of his horse and traced back the way he came from. As much as he wanted to leave this idiot there, he couldn't do it. Shadis will have him hanged by the balls if he lost Four Eyes. Levi was ready to sprint with his horse, thinking that Four Eyes might have ran away.

“ _Run as fast as you can, Four Eyes. I'm going to catch you and drag you all the way to the headquarters.”_

But before he could do that, he saw Four Eyes' horse tied to a tree. A few feet away from the tree, he spotted a figure squatting on the ground.

“Are you taking a shit, Shitty Glasses?” Levi asked from his horse. “Would you let your f*cking squad leader know before you go?”

“Hey, look what I found!” Hanji waved excitedly, ignoring Levi's rant completely. “Mushrooms! I read a lot about them. Look! Look! Come on squad leader grumpy, get off your high horse. Look at this!”

“Tch.” Levi jumped off his horse and secured it near to Hanji's horse. “We are on a schedule, Shitty Glasses. This better be quick.”

“Can you see that?” Hanji pointed at a fallen tree bark. The mushrooms were bright red with green spots at its cap. Levi have seen mushrooms before, but not as colorful as this. “Those are rare, you see. Deadly.”

Levi looked at Four Eyes with a confused face.

“What do you mean _deadly_?”

Hanji smiled and didn't answer his question. With a glint in her eyes, she took a knife she concealed in her boots, crawled closer to the mushroom, and cut it from the tree bark. She looked around to find a suitable material to transfer the mushroom to a leather satchel on her horse. She had her eyes set on Levi.

“Can I use the thing on your neck?” she said as she pointed to his cravat. “ I can't touch this directly or it will seepthrough my skin and kill me.”

“What the hell, Four Eyes.” he took a step back ready to jump on his horse and ride off. Nobody can touch his cravat. “No, absolutely not.”

“Please? All these time, I only read it from the books. Now it is right in front of me, I have to take it back to the headquarters. I have to study it, experiment it.” she pleaded.

Hanji looked at him with high hopesbut Levi is not complying. Instead, he stared that idiot down like he did during the morning inspection. Hanji who had enough of his shit, rolled her eyes and exhaled loudly. Levi took this as a win.

“Fine. I'll figure this out on my own.” She picked a few large fallen leaves on the ground, grouped it and made a fan out of it. Then she scooped the mushrooms and immediately put it in one of the empty satchels on her horse.

All the while Hanji was doing that, Levi was already on his horse.

“Hurry, Four Eyes. We are behind schedule and it looks like it's about to rain.”

 

 

Even their cloaks can't keep them dry. It was raining heavily, Levi decided that they should take cover. They stopped by an abandoned cottage just outside of the forest. It was a small wooden cottage with a porch at the front.

“How do you know this cottage is empty?” Hanji asked curiously as they tied their horses at the porch. Levi didn't even entertained Four Eyes with an answer. He entered the cottage instantly, took off his cloak and jacket and hanged it at a coat hanger by the door. Hanji followed right behind him. The wind was blowing hard outside, they can feel the draft in the cottage. Levi walks towards the fireplace and started the fire.

“Usually I'll tell one of those shit heads to start the fire but I'm assuming you don't have fire from whatever shit hole you came from.” he said as he poke around the wood to get the fire burn more brightly. “I'll let it slide this time.”

His next action made Hanji a little uncomfortable. He stood up from the fireplace and removed his shirt. Hanji watched he hang his shirt at the back of a chair and place it in front of the fire. She didn't even realized she was staring at the hot headed squad leader.

“What the hell are you looking at, Shitty Glasses? It's nothing you've never seen before.” Hanji snapped out of her daze and looked away immediately. Too transfixed to move.

“Well, take off your shirt. Bring that chair and let your clothes dry by the fire.” Levi instructed. He noticed that Four Eyes was still not moving, so he tried to intimidate by giving this idiot a menacing look.

Hanji shrugged and started to unbutton her shirt. As she unbuttoned her fourth button, Levi noticed something in Four Eyes' shirt.

“What is that shitty binding doing th..” and then it hit him. It felt like that one time he slammed a tree too hard while trying to evade a titan's reach. Felt like when he fell off his horse when the beast got panicked from the horde of titans chasing them. He didn't feel the physical pain when he saw the bindings on Hanji's chest but shock.

“You're a woman?!” his voice boomed higher than expected.

Hanji looked at him bewilderedly.

“Yeah.”

“Tch.” he looked away, arms folded close to his torso.

Hanji squinted her eyes, finally comprehending the situation at hand.

“Wait. All these time, you don't know I'm a woman?!” her eyes were wide again. “What kind of a squad leader are you?!”

“Does Shadis know this? Does Erwin?” he asked, sounded cheated.

“Well, I hope so. They assigned me a barrack with Petra. You know, the other female in your squad.” Hanji said sarcastically.

“There is no question about her.” Levi said quietly to himself.

“What?” Hanji asked honestly because she can't hear his whisper over the rain and wind outside.

“Nothing. I'll sit at the porch. You keep yourself warm here.” He walked past her but before he go outside, he grabbed a blanket from the cupboard.

When Hanji saw his blanket covered back from the window, she let out the biggest sigh like she has been holding her breath the entire time.

 

“ _I can do this. I have to focus. Don't be distracted, Hanji.”_

 

At the porch, Levi thought about giving Erwin a mean roundhouse kick to his face when he returned to the headquarters. He looked on the falling rain. Maybe he is at fault too. If he wasn't so stubborn and watch over Four Eyes as he should be, they wouldn't be in this predicament.

“Hey, want something warm to drink?” Levi was so deep in his own thoughts, he didn't realized Hanji was standing by the door. A cup of what he assumes tea in her hands.

“Well, I think it's tea. I found it in the cupboard. Are you sure this place is abandoned? It is pretty well stocked for an abandoned place.” He looked away from her in an attempt to avoid her. Hanji walked towards him and handed him the cup anyway. She proceeds to sit next to him.

“Look, I grew up in the underground. It is not exactly the safest place for a girl to live. When my mother died, I was a scrawny little kid. Her friend took me in. He said something about owing her his life or something. He raised me. Taught me how to read, how to defend, how to.. Basically, how to survive.” she said. A hint of sadness in her voice. Levi took a chance to look at her. Her expression was different from earlier.

“When my chest started to grow, he gave me these bindings to keep the prying eyes away from me. He even taught me how to act like a man. Not exactly an ideal way to raise a kid but hey, I made it till here.”

Her manic expression returned.

“So I don't blame you for not getting it right the first time. Plus, it's nothing you've never seen, right?” She gave him a hard pat at the back, stood up and walked into the cottage again.

Levi took a sip of the tea she made.

“ _Not bad for a scoundrel from underground.”_

Then he took a peek inside the cottage. She must have taken her clothes off because she was sitting in front of the fire with a cup of tea in her hands. A side of the blanket draped around her shoulders was slipping, exposing her right shoulder.

“Yeah. Nothing I've never seen.” Levi whispered to himself as he looked down to his tea.

 

 

It had been two months after Levi's big discovery in the cottage. Since then, Levi had been keeping an eye on Four Eyes' training and preparation for her first expedition. Now, they are at the gates of Shiganshina, ready to explore the titan's territory.

 

“Show them what we are made of!” Shadis shouted.

 

The soldiers reacted positively to Shadis prep talk by cheering and raising their hands to the air. Levi himself was not an expressive person, he kept looking forward but he can't help to take a quick glance to Hanji. Weird, she didn't cheer at all.

“ _Is she nervous?”_

He shook out of his thoughts. Why would he care what Four Eyes are feeling? First timers are usually titan fodder anyway. She is no exception, especially with her lack of training and all. She will be a quick snack for the titans. He gripped the reins tighter intuitively.

When it was time to move, Hanji rode the horse confidently. Her nervous expression was gone and replaced with a delightful grin. It's not like Levi was checking on her or anything. She's a squad member and he cares for his squad members. His concern was justified.

They reached their first checkpoint without any incident. No casualties or injuries. Any titans that were in their way were killed effortlessly by the corps. The checkpoint was actually an abandoned castle a day away from Shiganshina's gate. Tonight, the castle will be their sleeping quarters.

“You're awfully quiet, Four Eyes.” Levi looked down on Hanji who was sitting on the floor. “Titans rendered you speechless?”

Hanji was too distracted to think of a comeback, she gave him the most ungenuine smile she could muster. She watched him scoffed and walked away into a corridor.

“Hey, Oluo. Where do the high ranking officers sleep?” Hanji asked after Levi was out of the view.

“You mean, where do squad leader Levi sleeps?” Oluo smirked. “He never sleeps, greenhorn.”

“I mean other high ranking officers.” Hanji deadpanned.

“You do know we are in a castle, right? I guess they will be sleeping in one of those fancy chambers.”

“Is that so.”

“Yeah, go to sleep. Our shift starts in four hours.”

 

 

Levi had been staring at the wall for hours now. Usually his mind would wonder off to Erwin's incessant talk of strategies or he would reflect on his squad's performance but not tonight. He kept thinking of the damned Four Eyes. She is not her usual self.

Levi stood up from the couch he was sitting on, smooth his pants and walked out of the room.

“ _Just a quick check on Four Eyes. Nothing unusual. Maybe I'll wake them early for their shift.”_ Levi tried to reason with himself.

He walked along the long corridor and passed many doors to the rooms of other high ranking officers. Most of them were quiet. _MOST._ He walked by a door and he heard a familiar voice coming from the room.

“Take off your clothes.” Levi stopped in his tracks and listen closely. He wondered, is that her voice?

“Wa..wait Hanji.” another person is in the room. The voice sounds suspiciously like Erwin.

“Take it off NOW!” listening to them made Levi very uncomfortable. He was about to return to his room, ditching the plan to check on his squad. Levi took a few steps away and then he heard noises like two people are scuffling in the room.

“ _Tch. Keep it down, you two.”_

“Drop the knife, Hanji. Whatever it is, we can talk this through.”

“Did you had a talk with Uncle Kenny before you killed him?!”

Another scuffle. Wait, this is not what Levi imagined it to be. This is something else. He slammed the door open. It surprised both of them in the room but Hanji took this chance to jump over the table that separated her and Erwin, grabbed his wrist and twist his arm to his back. It was quick, Erwin didn't even had the opportunity to counter her attacks. Lastly, she slammed his head to the table. With a free hand, she pulled out a knife and hold it to his nape.

“If you move a muscle, I'll stab your shoulder.”

“It's going to take more than a stab at the shoulder to kill me, and Levi is here. You have no chance Hanji. Give up now and I'll let you go without reporting you to the higher ups.” Erwin tried to negotiate with her.

“A cut is all I need. This knife is laced with the deadliest poisonous mushroom.” she glanced to Levi with a sly smirk. “It will be a slow, painful death for you and the infirmary is a long way from here.”

“What the f*ck do you want, Four Eyes?!” Levi asked, confused out of his mind.

“I want the man responsible for Uncle Kenny's death to die!” her grip on Erwin's wrist tightened. “And why... why you killed him? Is it because of the forbidden books?!”

“I have not killed anyone! And I don't know what you're talking about!” Erwin yelled. She was significantly smaller than him but that grip was agonizing.

“Yes you do! Nicholas Lobov told me that. He said, you received an order from Central Military Police to have Uncle Kenny killed.”

“Then you are in the wrong division, Four Eyes. This is Survey Corps, not the MPs.” Levi looked at her like she is an idiot.

“You are friends with Nile Dawk, aren't you?” she leaned on Erwin's back to get closer to his ears. “You accepted his offer to kill Uncle Kenny, didn't you? You just have to nod and I'll make it quick. A slit to the throat is all.”

“No, it's not tru..”

Hanji felt something heavy fell on her head. It made her dizzy for a few moment. She looked at her side to see what it is and it was a book. She wondered how it flew to her head. In a split second, a being slid over the table and grabbed her wrist that was holding the knife. Levi snatched it from her hand and threw it aside, away from her. While still holding on to her wrist, he jerked her forward and his other arm was ready to deliver a punch to her face. He only wanted to incapacitate her but Hanji dodged his punch, spun around to free her hand and gave Levi a side kick to his face.

As soon as she regained her balance, she lurched towards the knife on the floor. She knew she can't win a fight against two grown men, the knife is her only chance. But Levi was too quick for her. He grabbed her waist with an arm and turned her to face him. Then, moved his hands to her upper arms and pushed her against the wall and didn't let go.

“Stop.” Levi said calmly. Even with the height difference, Levi gave Hanji a chilling stare but she is not looking away. She was thinking of a way to escape his grip.

“Nicholas Lobov is not to be trusted.” Erwin said as he broke the tension between them. Rubbing the wrist Hanji twisted earlier, he walked closer to them. “He intends to abolish the corps to get more money from the capital.”

Erwin grasped Levi's shoulder and when he turned to look at him, Erwin nods at him. Levi took this as a sign to release Four Eyes.

“No sudden movement, Four Eyes. Or I'll break your legs.” Levi threatened. Hanji shot an equally threatening glare.

“Why should I trust you?”

“Why did you trust Lobov?”

“He said... you did it.” Hanji said with less conviction this time. Why did she believe Lobov?

“Somebody murdered your uncle. You're blind with rage and Lobov fed you with wrong information to get me killed. Do you think that is plausible?” Erwin said with such charm it confused Hanji even more.

She didn't know what to do, who to trust. All she knew is that she is alone in the world with no family and no connections. It hit her deep in her core, she dropped to her knees and started to cry.

“I don't know who killed your uncle but I can promise you this, if you stay in the corps, I'll personally investigate this matter. We'll bring the murderer to justice and bring peace to you uncle.” Erwin bent a knee to be in the same eye level as Hanji. “Do we have a deal?”

“I still don't trust you.”

“Then you will find another opportunity to kill me, but know this, I have never killed a human being.” He gave her a faint smile. “Are you willing to take the risk of trusting me, just like I risk myself with you?”

He didn't wait for an answer. Instead, he stood up and offered his hand to Hanji to help her up. If she accepts it, Erwin will take it as a 'yes'. After a few arduous moment, Hanji grabbed his hand and stood up.

 

 

Nobody knew about the incident in Erwin's room. Other officers who slept soundly in their rooms didn't even aware of the fight even though they made a few noises. Morning came and the corps are ready to leave the castle to continue on their expedition.

“Are you sure she is the Humanity's Smartest?” Levi talked to Erwin while waiting for their horses. “She made stupid decisions for someone so smart.”

“I don't blame her. She's been tricked.” Erwin grinned. “I reckon I could rely on you to keep her under control?”

“What am I? A babysitter?”

“No but give her time. I bet the both of you will be inseparable in the future.” he paused, contemplating if he should say out loud what's on his mind, “if the two of you live long enough.”

“Tch.”

**Author's Note:**

> I should mention here that in this AU, Kenny is a retired but not an asshole thug. He had a crush or something on Hanji's mother. So when she died, he decided to take Hanji under his wings. They are not related.
> 
> I was suppose to think of something genius that Hanji invented, but nope. My brain farted. So, I ended up describing something so vague. 
> 
> The poisonous mushroom does not exist in this world.
> 
> The cottage is actually a shelter for soldiers to use during emergency, such as taking cover from rain. Levi didn't explain because he is a jerk.


End file.
